Chicago in Pictures - Part 1

(Back to Intro)

Day 1 - Arrival.

I was given the option by my company to take taxis, but 1.) I couldn't justify the cost, even if I wasn't paying for it, and 2.) more importantly, taking Metro Transit just sounded way more exciting!

I wasn't disappointed - as I made my way to purchase my week-long, unlimited-rides-to-anywhere pass, the moving walkway seemed less like an airport terminal and more like a journey down a whirling kaleidoscope of urban, graffiti-art mosaics:

I'm pretty sure they just expect everyone coming from the airport to be a rookie cuz there's only 1 option to get into Chicago - the Orange Line.

The train was pretty fun - I felt a mild rush coursing through my rebellious self as I stood and swayed with the cars, ignoring the available seats and even occasionally not hold on! My one complaint is the smell - sweat. Yuck. Oh well... a small price to pay, and the taxi probably wouldn't smell much better...

My original plan was to check in at my hotel and then wait till morning to register at the conference center. I had my routes all mapped out (HT:Google); it was a good plan. But halfway to the hotel, I realized that I'd be going "right by" the conference center, and if I stopped now, I could sleep in later tomorrow morning!! It didn't look far on the map (Lesson #1: sizewise, Chicago >> Minneapolis. Things take a long time to walk to), so I hopped off the train and started walking in a general south-by-southeast direction.

I passed the oldest house in Chicago,

and moved on quickly, not wanting to stir up previously dismissed age-related thoughts. A few blocks later, I stumbled upon a path that just burst with metaphorical value:

quiet, adventurous, unknown, a perfect match for my mood at that moment in time; I had to take it. It wasn't until the end of the night that I realized just how closely that path would represent my first evening in Chicago:

Dead end. Ugh.

Retracing my steps, I eventually made it around the tracks and back to where I needed to be. I made it to my destination just before registration closed:

Maybe this grown-up thing won't be so bad after all...

Now to get back downtown and find my hotel... I asked the information desk where the nearest train station was (Lesson #2: ask clarifying questions. Like, 'Will this pass work with that train?'), and I was in luck - just behind the building and down the stairs.

Ummmm.... Sketchville. I think I'm about to die. I could almost hear the faint laughter from heaven - 'Hey, Michael,' God chuckles, 'come check this out! He asked for an adventure... think he's had enough yet?!'

I'm not afraid!!' I replied defiantly. And most definitely out loud. Oops. I shrugged off a few strange looks - but really, I probably have better chances of surviving if they think that I'm the crazy one...

Anyway, after awhile the train came. And left. Without me. Turns out the Metra line uses a different pass system. Awesome. Time to get outta' Dodge...

I finally found a bus (Lesson #3: So that's why public transit smells like sweat - I must've walked 6 miles by now! Yuck.) that was headed in the general downtown direction (it just happened to be stopped right in front of a dozen or so empty, taunting taxi cars - I refuse to back down now!) and quickly jumped on. I figured I would be pretty safe using the (formerly-known-as) Sears Tower as a guide.

After witnessing the crushing death of the biggest cockroach I have ever seen in the aisle, I figured it was as good a time as any to get off. So I stepped off the bus, and into....

a Jazz Festival. Turns out this week is the Taste of Chicago - finally, a decent break!

I briskly walked the last mile (luggage miraculously still in tow), going over a sweet bridge,

and under the classic sidewalk scaffolding.

My hotel was nothing like the Hyatt-Regency where the conference was being held,

but it was still home. And it did have it's perks - like toilet paper origami.

So here I sit, in an almost-empty hotel restaurant,

eating a late-nite salad and preparing a blog post on my Blackberry. I'd say it's been enough adventuring for one day... I wonder what tomorrow will bring?!

To be continued...

(Part 2)